Lubbock council hires outside attorney in Hernandez-Dumbauld case

Political action committee formed in effort to recall Hernandez

Lubbock’s City Council directed its recently hired outside legal counsel to explore what Mayor Glen Robertson called “all options” as the council investigates complaints against Councilman Victor Hernandez and City Manager Lee Ann Dumbauld.

The council hired an Amarillo attorney recommended by City Attorney Sam Medina to represent the council, requesting the outside counsel meet with Dumbauld’s attorney relating to complaints against Hernandez by Dumbauld and city staff and possible action regarding Dumbauld’s employment status with the city.

“At this point our job is to sit back and wait and allow the attorneys to work,” Robertson said. “Our guidance through our directive to our attorney was to bring us back all options, and I think that’s important for everybody to know. This council wants to look at all options.”

The council’s unanimous decision to hire attorney Tom Riney came with no discussion on the council dais during a special council meeting Tuesday, April 16 — the same day a former Lubbock County commissioner said he formed a political action committee in his effort to start a petition to recall Hernandez.

Tuesday’s meeting was the third council meeting touching on the Hernandez-Dumbauld issue, including last week’s split council decision against placing Dumbauld on paid administrative leave.

Robertson said he expects the council will need to call another special council meeting before the end of the month or in early May.

On Tuesday, Ysidro Gutierrez announced plans to host a news conference at 10 a.m. Friday, April 19, and the formation of the Campaign to Vacate Victor political action committee — and plans to begin collecting signatures as soon as this month.

On Friday, April 12, he said he’s initiating the petition because he’s disappointed by Hernandez’s handling of complaints involving Dumbauld, specifically his decisions in recent weeks not to recuse himself from the council’s decision-making process on the matter.

The political action committee was formed Monday, April 15, to “utilize all resource (sic), measures and actions to petition the city of Lubbock for a recall election of District 1 City Councilman Victor Hernandez and if a recall election is unsuccessful to campaign in opposition to his candidacy in the 2014 municipal elections,” according to a copy of the committee’s filed application.

Gutierrez is listed as the committee’s treasurer and Frank Gutierrez as its chairman.

“I believe that we’re going to be successful,” Ysidro Gutierrez said.

Last week, Hernandez said he’s “not bothered” about the prospect of a recall election, if it should happen.

Hernandez said he believes citizens in his North Lubbock council district are on his side.

“The feedback I’m getting is that people are comfortable with my representation,” he said. “I represent a district of the city that needs a lot of help. They don’t want a rubber stamp. They don’t want a wallflower. They want someone who will be an advocate.”

Ysidro Gutierrez said the committee already has raised about $500 — money he said could be used to hire people to gather signatures for the petition.

The petition would need 448 valid signatures to trigger a recall election — 30 percent of the number of voters in the district who participated in the last general election, or 1,491 people, a note from City Secretary Becky Garza states.

Of the 448, at least one-tenth of those signing the petition must certify they voted for Hernandez during his last election in May 2010.

The petition must be filed through Garza’s office 30 days after the filing of the affidavit. At that point, the council, including Hernandez, would receive notification of the petition.

The officeholder has five days, after such notice is given, to resign. If there’s no resignation within five days, the governing body is required to order a recall election.

Gutierrez said 448 valid signatures is a “reasonable number.”

“We want to collect more than enough signatures so we can make a statement to Councilman Hernandez that there are enough people in his district that will vote against him,” he said.

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I've said before that I'm not a fan of Hernandez but that he was on the right side of this 'dispute' with the city manager. He was close to uncovering her wrong doing and she responded by going on the offensive. It is unfortunate that she has been able to divert the focus to Hernandez. What is she trying to hide?

The ideal situation would be that both Hernandez and the city manager go down the road and take the mayor and wayward councilwoman with them. Coucilmen Jim Gerlt and Floyd Price are the keys to change. Both of them are good men who need to be persuaded to make the necessary change to put some trust back in our local government.

What happened to the Hernandez gang? I recall he was in step with these individuals and signed the recall petition, when they attempted to recall Councilwoman DeLeon a couple of years ago. I find it funny that they are now trying to remove him from office. I thought he was one of the good ole boys, with Ysidrio, Frank, and Armando.

I was messaged that Councilman Hernandez recently deleted his buds from his facebook list of friends. Why would he do that? He says one thing to the local newspaper but he posts a diferent story on his facebook page.

If I have a written complaint against an individual, that person should not be in a position to vote for or against my written complaint. It may be legal for Councilman Hernandez to sit through the proceedings but he should recuse himself from voting.

For Councilman Hernandez to vote to send City Manager home with pay while this moves forward is just plain WRONG. There are wriiten complaints against him but he is allowing himself to sit as a jurior to decide about the charges against him.

The AJ stated recently that Councilman Hernandez is against an audit of LP&L,why? If your books are up and up, open them so world can see that you have been honest and true to the citizens of Lubbock. If Councilman Hernandez advocates higher rates for electricity but no audit then something is starting to smell really foul.

Councilman Hernandez says he has the support of District 1 but what has he really been able to accomplish in the last 3 years. What has he brought to his District that individuals can actually see?

Ysidro Gutierrez and Frank Gutierrez are a bunch of whiners who try to wrongly portray themselves as the true voice of all Hispanics in Lubbock , especially those in Councilman Hernandez's district . Neither of the Gutierrez's are widely respected or electable . As a Republican I cannot stand to see a former Democratic officeholder jump to our party because of selfish personal reasons instead of political convictions . Frank Gutierrez , the other petition organizer , is the " perpetual " office seeker who always gets rejected by the voters at the polls . Ysidro , will get stomped at the polls in 2014 if he decides to challenge Hernandez . His attempt at a recall petition is to try to force Hernandez to resign . In a head to head election Hernandez wins hands down .

The only reason I would have objected to Hernandez's vote, is that he should have proposed and voted for Dumbauld to be on leave WITHOUT pay. Although Hernandez seldom answered my requests for information, most of city hall had the same lack of ability to reply in a timely and friendly manner. I am unsure if the malfunction is weakness in the arms, rendering the official physically unable to hit a reply icon, or if they lacked the mental ability or drive that a true public servant needs, to respond to the public. I approve the "hostile environment" the public servants at city hall must endure. The servants have the duty to respond, with requested information, to every citizen, including Hernandez, and all of us. If they are heartless creatures, have substandard hearts, or are in constant fear, they should not be on the public payroll. . . I will not sign the petition, and if it comes to a recall vote, I will vote to keep Hernandez. However, I will sign a recall petition for Robertson, and vote to throw him out. He received the Anti-Martin vote as we threw out the previous corrupt mayor. I wonder who will get the Anti-Robertson vote. . . . If there is a bona-fide hostile environment at city hall, shouldn't the FBI or the Texas Rangers investigate city hall? It is no surprise that The council chambers and George Orwell's "1984" worst place in the world, have the same number: Room 101

There are too many factions playing games for their personal benefit, and our city leaders must call the shots on these factions, and come clean once and for all. The Gutierrez group needs to "go home," save money, and run for election again, if they can. This is ridiculous. Who would trust them now? More over,the residents of Hernadez' district are not all being given an opporutnity to participate; many of them are home-bound, do not read or speak English, and only know rumors about this political mess. Whether the councilperson is right or wrong, one has to question why there are so many self-serving people standing in the wings who were all too ready to jump into the fray to remove Hernandez. In regards to Hernandez, I have no opinion, but do see him a community events, forums, celebrations, and seemingly ready to talk to residents, like another minority council member.

Dumbault should have sought legal counsel long before stirring up a hornet's nest. Her actions show a lack of professional experience, and also a serious lack of mentors. No one can move very far professionally without mentors who know much more than they do, are in varied fields, and use to being a mentor. Minimally, legal counsel would have paved the way for her resignation with dignity, assurring her work was well done, and completed for the people of Lubbock and for herself.

The fault for long-time angst should be idenitifed, but it won't be addressed. Legal counsel won't solve that issue! It's patently obvious to this region, and now the nation that the Lubbock city counsel has had problems for a very long time which was proven and peaked when Robertson announced the threatening phone call he received while out of town (Dallas, I believe). This is one problem with electing business moguls and lawyer to public office - they're used to telling people how to pay them, and not used to caring for people.

Over coffee many had a fairly good idea who made that call, and such a malignant factor should have been legally addressed, and prevented from any further harassment and involvement in Lubbock politics, boards, commissions. It appears there's a festering lesion between the mayor and in the LP&L "leadership," and Robertson needs to make known who made that call to him in order to diffuse such power.

Boy, I don't know. This one is getting hard to handicap. I have no notion which one, if either, is in the right. Hernandez is a known sleaze and shyster to the point where even other lawyers have noticed. Dumbauld has presided over a city bureaucracy that has been spectacularly inept on a number of important projects and issues. Now we also have hints of struggles and agendas not yet made public - LP&L, stalking, sexual advances, pressure on lower ranking employees to take sides, and who knows what else. The whole thing is taking on the flavor of a soap opera or a low rent reality show, this time featuring the people who have the power to tax and regulate the rest of us. That should get people thinking.

@ speakeup: speakup said "The AJ stated recently that Councilman Hernandez is against an audit of LPL, why?".

Hernandez wasn't the only one who did not support that audit of LPL. The reason is that the audit wasn't necessary and the calling for it was just a political ploy. LPL is audited every year by both internal and external auditors. There are actually two external audits completed by the audit firm, one that includes LPL in the overall city financial audit and a separate more comprehensive audit given to the LPL board. The audit that was voted down was just another attempt to cast LPL in a negative light in order to create a favorable climate for retaking control by the city manager and her cronies (money grab).

@ Pappion: Enjoyed your comments. Here is some info on the threatening phone call received by the city manager's mouthpiece. The phone call was just friendly advice to the mayor that he was headed down the wrong road and would not be reelected if he continued to help the city manager in her quest to retake control of LPL (money grab). The person making the call was very much in favor of keeping LPL separate. The mayor played the call up as a huge threat to mislead the public and to intimidate people who would challenge him. He didn't take the advice and continues to lose support. The mayor would be embarrassed by his take on this phone call as a threat if the recording is ever played.

These opportunistic political slicksters led by Isidro and Frank Gutierrez will undoubtly accuse Councilman Hernandez of either vandalizing their " Recall Victor " signs or of stalking their 15 volunteers . I can already see a staged 3am sign vandalism video purporting to show a well dressed Hispanic man tearing down signs and making verbal threats . How about giving me the location and time so I can be part of this hoax . We can call the video " The Zombie From District 1 Who Happened to Be Caught on Camera and Ate 15 Volunteers While the Rest of Lubbock Slept ."

A recall petition/election isn't a bad thing, necessarily. Either one would show Victor where he stands, politically within the city district he currently represents. And, it's their (Gutierrez's) prerogative to do so. Let the wheels of democracy turn via a recall petition within the specific required conditions and time constraints and let's see if that effort will produce a recall election.

I am thankful for a two party system. As it is, this is all we have. If a person says they are Republican, you need to accept they are Republican. If someone says they are Democrat, you need to accept they are Democrat. Everyone who is still breathing still has a right to change their minds and the community needs to let that happen. It is well known that Hispanics are going to make the Republican party influential and Ysidro is an asset to attract more Hispanics to join. You don't think he has any ability to affect the politics of this community? Let's see.